On a long distance bike tour you have one main partner – your bike. You will be fully dependent on your bike to carry you and your gear the distance. Picking the right bike for a cross country bike ride is critical, as the decision can significantly impact your enjoyment and likelihood of success on […]

Location: Hot Springs NC to Springer Mountain GA My journal entry on November 7th was my last written on the Appalachia Trial. I did not record the daily events of my last 17 days on the trail. As disappointed as I am in myself for quitting my writing habit, the negligence is indicative of the […]

Location: Unknown Shelter, TN I left Uncle Johnny’s this morning around 9:45. I found some cereal and powdered milk in the hiker box and decided I would have it for breakfast. I considered waiting for the coffee shop to open at 10:00, but I decided that I better leave because a cup of coffee would […]

Location: Uncle Johnny’s Hostel (Erwin, TN) Mom dropped me off this morning at the trailhead for the last time. I carried a full pack again, and started south, only a few hundred miles from Springer Mountain. I moved slowly but steadily down the trail. My slack-packs and zero day made me sluggish, but I made […]

Location: Beech Mountain, NC I took yesterday off to spend with family. I said goodbye to Chris, Sarah, Liza, and Winn this morning. They had come to Beech for the weekend, and they would return to Durham while I slack-packed today. Mom drove me to Carver’s Gap where I started my slack-pack towards 19E. I […]

Location: Beech Mountain, NC I left the hostel this morning after paying the caretaker five dollars for letting me stay. It was every bit of 18̊F outside. I said goodbye to the brother and headed out on the trail. The morning was clear, but the forest and trail were frozen. I can feel the frozen […]

Location: Kincora Hostel (Dennis Cove Rd, TN) When I woke up this cold morning, all of the clothes I had hung in the shelter to dry last night had frozen. My shirts and pants were stiff and my socks had ice crystals on them. I was wearing dry clothes inside my sleeping bag, but I […]

Location: Double Springs Shelter, Tennessee I left Damascus today in the hot morning. I was dragging all day. Having slack-packed for two days, I felt that I wasn’t going to reach the top of the first mountain with a full pack pulling down on my shoulders. Shortly after leaving town, I met Cold Feet slack-packing […]

Location: Damascus, VA (Mount Rogers Hostel) I have new boots. Mom brought three pairs from REI in Raleigh, and one pair fits me. I decided I needed to switch from trail runners to boots because of the winter weeks ahead. My shoes no longer kept water off my socks and they poorly insulated my feet, […]

Location: Old Mill Inn, Damascus, Virginia After spending the night in Marion, VA, mom drove me back to the trail crossing where we had met. I left all of my overnight gear with her, and I only carried snacks and water for a twenty mile day hike over the Grayson Highlands. I enjoyed walking with […]

Based on the actual adventure and transformation of Mark Kelley, publisher of this website, who struggled mightily on his hike through the rugged and remote 100 Mile Wilderness on the Appalachian Trail.